A typical sand wedge has a lobe or downward projection located on an opposite side of the club head relative to the face, and extending downwardly from the lower portion or leading edge of the club head, or is otherwise designed for preventing the leading edge from penetrating downwardly into and possibly getting stuck in the ground. A lobe or other downward projection bounces or deflects off of the ground, and in turn, provides "bounce" or a sharp upward movement to the club head typically at about the moment the leading edge contacts the ground. Bounce is particularly useful when a high-angled trajectory is needed to lift a golf ball out of a steep-lipped sand trap. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. Des 55,278 issued to Kraeuter shows a golf club head having a wide portion or lobe located adjacent to the leading edge of the club face to deflect the club head upwardly off of the ground surface during contact of the leading edge with the ground surface. U.S. Pat. No. 1,835,718 issued to Morton shows a curved wing for collecting sand therewithin, which acts as a cushion for bouncing the club upwardly and for minimizing the penetration of the leading edge of the club head into the ground surface. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,397 issued to linuma; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 294,850 issued to Simmons; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 389,541 issued to Huan-Chiang, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,145 issued to Sherwood, are further examples of golf club head designs which prevent or minimize ground surface penetration and/or deflect the club head upwardly generally upon contact of the leading edge of the club face with the ground.
One drawback with prior art golf club heads having lobes in the above-described or other structures designed for preventing or minimizing penetration of the leading edge into the ground, is that if the club head contacts the ground slightly behind the desired contact position, the design will cause the club head to bounce upwardly as the leading edge contacts the ground, to thereby mishit or "top" the ball. A club head which tops a ball imparts a low-angled and short trajectory thereto which is particularly undesirable, for example, when attempting to lift a golf ball out of a sand trap
In response to the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head that overcomes the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages of prior art golf club heads.